


Between the Lines

by RubinaLadybug



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubinaLadybug/pseuds/RubinaLadybug
Summary: Ever wonder what happen between the Duel between Yugi and Pegasus and Duelist Kingdom? Takes place mainly between Yugi and his mother. One shot!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> My previous account had started in 2003. But it looks like I didn't do any traction until 2009. I still have my old work saved on a USB drive. Here was my first completed and posted YGO one shot. Enjoy!

**Between the Lines**

"Grandpa!" Yugi yelled as he rushed to his fallen relative’s side. Tears streamed down the young teen's face with a look of grief.

"Grandpa! Please answer!" he bellowed, shaking his unconscious grandfather.

Everyone waited anxiously to see what would happen next. Fear and anxiety quickly engulfed the room.

"He's…. not answering…" Yugi finally admitted to no one in particular. He felt his whole world had shaken. One moment he was watching a video and dueling the creator of Duel Monsters, and the next his grandfather fell to the floor.

"I'll call for an ambulance!" Tristan offered as he ran for the nearest phone.

"What's going on here?" asked a small woman with red hair wearing a yellow sweater, a light blue blouse, and a purple skirt.

"Mrs. Muto," a nervous Tea gulped.

Mrs. Muto gasped when she saw her son holding his unconscious grandfather.

"What just happened!?" she demanded to know.

Yugi wanted to speak but was too choked with tears to get anything out of his mouth.

"Mr. Muto had just collapsed." Joey answered in a calm manner.

Tea nodded in agreement and added, "We were sitting her watching television when he suddenly collapsed."

Joey stood up and explained how Tristan had already called for an ambulance.

"There on their way," the tall brunette notified as he came into the room.

A white ambulance stopped in front of the Turtle Game Shop. Joey opened the door for the hospital workers while Tea showed the two men where the crisis occurred. The pair brought with them a stretcher and gently placed the old man on it. They then took the stretcher and walked back outside.

Everyone decided to go in the Muto's car with Mrs. Muto driving.

Yugi squeezed his hands into fist fixed on his lap. He wasn’t sure what would happen next. He prayed his worst fears about his grandfather would not come true.

* * *

The group arrived at the hospital but stayed in the waiting room. Yugi sat next to his mom, who flipped through a magazine but was not truly paying attention to the articles.

Tea took the seat on the other side of Yugi. She saw her childhood friend has his eyes closed with his fists still clinched tightly. Even though his eyes weren't open, Tea could tell her friend was struggling with anger towards Pegasus but also full of sorrow for his grandfather.

Joey and Tristan sat on the bench opposite of Yugi. Nothing could be said in a moment like this. All they could do was wait while the doctors examined the elderly man.

"We can now take you see Mr. Muto Senior," a doctor said when he finally came out.

The group stood up and continued down the hallway to the first room on their right.

The doctor opened the door to let them all in.

"Grandpa!" Yugi yelled as he rushed towards the bed where his grandfather lied. He didn't care tears streamed down his face once again. He tightly gripped the sheets to the mattress. He wanted to see his grandfather open his eyes once more, but they wouldn‘t.

"I'm sorry," the doctor began. "But it would appear that Mr. Muto Senior is in a coma."

"A coma?" Mrs. Muto repeated in shock.

"Yes, we do not know how long he will be in there. It can be anywhere from days, weeks, or even months, but I can't guarantee anything."

"I understand," the mother said, turning towards her brokenhearted son.

The doctor exited the room to give the visitors some private time.

Mrs. Muto placed her hands gently on her son’s shoulders; Yugi gripped the sheets as the tears dropped down his face. Tears also ran down the woman’s face as she closed her eyes.

Tristan decided to be the first to leave the room. Joey was following him when he had given Tea a silent gesture for her to follow them. The female teen nodded and whispered, "Be safe," to Yugi as she walked quietly out of the room.

* * *

After a long night, the sun finally rose. The young teen with the tri-color hair woke up in bed in his room. He recalled the previous night he had a silent drive home with his mother.

Yugi brushed his teeth, changed into his school uniform, and placed the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. He greeted his mother quietly as he entered the kitchen.

The woman was still in her pink nightgown and had fixed one sliced of toast with butter on it. She knew that her son was not in the mood for eating a whole breakfast.

"Yugi," she called in soft voice. Her son, who was placing things into his bag answered, "Yes?"

"I know it's been a long night and I know you aren't as hungry but… But I still want you to eat a snack and a lunch, understood?" she instructed with a caring but firm tone.

"Yes, Mom." Yugi continued to gather up his school supply and changed his slippers to shoes.

"Yugi, one more thing."

"Yes?" Yugi turned around before exiting the house.

"I know this will be a very hard time for the both of us but I still want you to do your best in school. But if you feel as though you can't handle the school work or if you need to call me, please do so and I'll pick you up right away."

"Thanks Mom," Yugi replied. "But I think I'll be fine."

He exited his house and caught up with Tea quickly.

* * *

When school was over, Yugi walked slowly towards his house with plenty dwelling on his mind.

" _How am I going to rescue Grandpa from Pegasus?_ "

About to enter his home, he noticed a letter addressed to him. He grabbed the enveloped, looked what was inside, and placed it in his bag.

"Mom?" Yugi asked as he entered through the Game Shop entrance.

"Welcome home," his mother greeted.

"Mom, did you run the shop?" Yugi asked as he changed his shoes to slippers.

"Yes, for a while. I had to close up around noon to go visit your Grandpa."

"How is he?"

"……He's still in his coma."

Yugi sighed as he looked down onto the floor.

His mother knew how much this had hurt her son, so she came close to him and gave him a hug.

"Mom," her son said as he pulled away. "Why don't you go and start dinner? I'll take care of the rest of the shift."

Yugi's mother nodded. "I need to go to the grocery store first, so I'll be back."

She changed into walking shoes and left with her purse.

Yugi went to the counter and waited for costumers to come in. As he waited, he pulled out his textbooks to study. After reading a few pages, he realized he couldn't concentrate. His mind was too distracted with the incident between his grandpa and Pegasus. He then went through his bag and looked at the letter that was sent to him. The door opened.

"Hey, Yug, what's up?" Joey asked as he came in.

"Hey, Joey," Yugi greeted with joy. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing," the blonde answered.

"Yeah, we were worried about you because you were so glum," Tristan said after he came in with Joey.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Joey asked.

"Help with?" Yugi questioned, confused as to what his friend meant.

"Yeah," Tristan said. "Is there anything you need to be done with muscle? I know it's not easy to run a game shop with just you and your mom."

"I don't think we need anything in particular," Yugi answered.

"What about these boxes?" Joey asked. "Do you need them to be moved or shelved?"

"Well…" Yugi trailed off.

"It'll be no problem for those two," came a feminine voice.

"Tea?" Yugi asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think," she giggled. "I came by to see how you were doing."

"All right, Yugi," Joey began. "If you don't tell us where to place these boxes, me and Tristan will place them somewhere they probably won't go!"

"How is that helpful?" Tristan inquired.

"Shh! I'm trying to help!" Joey yelled.

"Guys, don't yell too loud otherwise Mrs. Muto won't be happy about that." Tea scolded.

The two tall teens apologized while Yugi laughed, "Well, I guess Joey can move those boxes downstairs, and Tristan can help stock the shelves."

A few customers came in looking at items they were interested in. Tea helped out the females who were looking for things for their family or friends. Yugi helped the older, more experience customers in the gaming field.

"Thanks for all the help guys!" Yugi said with gratitude as he closed the shop.

"No problem, man!" Joey grinned.

"Yeah, we'll always be there for you." Tristan nodded as he gave a thumbs up.

"I sure wish there was a way for all of you guys to come with me to Pegasus' island." Yugi said out loud, changing the tone of the atmosphere.

"Don't worry," Joey comforted. "We'll all think of something."

The two left.

"Yugi," Tea began with a concern look on her face. "Have you talked with your mother about what's _really_ going on?"

"No, I haven't," Yugi sighed. "But I'll try and talk with her tonight."

Tea nodded and added before leaving, "If you need someone to talk to, you have my cell phone number."

* * *

Yugi's mother prepared dinner while her son went upstairs to shower. When he was done, he came to his bedroom with his pajamas already on and a towel around his neck. Yugi sat on his chair and looked outside his window. He felt a tear slid down his cheek. He immediately brushed it away when his mother called for him for dinner.

After a quiet meal, Mrs. Muto started to wash the dishes. As she did, her vision became blurry and she immediate placed her right hand on her head. The dish had dropped right into the sink, but because it was filled with water, the plate did not break.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Yugi asked as he got up and rushed to his mother.

"It's… nothing," the woman replied.

Yugi stood on his tiptoes and felt his mother's head.

"Mom, you're burning up!” he exclaimed alarmed. “You need to go lie down."

"But, I—" Yugi's mother was about to protest when Yugi right away responded, "You need to rest. You've been up for a while because you've been worried about Grandpa."

Yugi's mother had looked at her son with wide but loving eyes.

"I'll take care of the rest," Yugi offered with a smile. "I'll be fine."

The woman nodded and headed towards her room.

Yugi continued to rinse the dishes and place them in the dishwasher. He then sighed as he took out a teapot and filled it with water.

" _How am I going to tell her that Grandpa's soul was taken from him by some sort of magic?_ "

He then took the teapot and placed it on the stove. " _Even if by the off chance she believed me, I doubt she would even let me go_."

He brought a cup to his mother's room. He knocked on her door and said, "Mom, I brought you some tea."

He walked into his mother's room, and as he did, Yugi's mom started to sit up.

"Mom," Yugi began as he gave her the drink. "There's something I need to tell you. I need to leave for a few days to attend this Duel Monster's tournament and—"

"Leave for a silly card game!?" Yugi's mother protested. "How can you be thinking of such a thing at a time like this?!"

Just as Yugi was about to explain the situation, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Yugi asked as he grabbed the phone.

"Yugi? This is your father speaking." the other line stated.

"Dad!" Yugi responded with joy. "How is your trip so far? Are you going to be home soon?"

"My trip is going fine," the man answered. "I'm sorry, though. I don't know how soon it will be before I'll get back. Will you please put your mother on the line?"

"That's ok, dad," the boy replied. "Just be sure to be safe! Here's mom."

Yugi handed the phone to his mother.

"Hello? Yes….. Yes…… I'm afraid so. Wait one moment." Yugi's mother pulled the phone away from her ear and requested, "Yugi will you please step outside for a moment? Your dad and I need to talk privately."

Yugi became hesitant to leave when his mother instructed, "We’ll discuss the issue later."

The teen nodded politely, left the room, and closed the door. He sighed in defeat and was about to walk away when he heard, "I'm not sure if Yugi is ready for another lost."

" _What are they talking about?_ " Yugi asked himself as he listened in.

"It wasn't too long ago that his grandmother, your mom, had passed away. There's so much in his life that I don't know about, and there's already enough to worry about without this going on……"

The young boy slowly walked towards his room. He opened the door, closed it, and walked to his bed. He sat towards the wall and brought his legs and feet closer to him. He reflected what his mother had said.

" _Have I not been a good son to her? Have I really been keeping to myself that much?_ "

He buried his head into his knees remembering his grandmother's funeral. Everyone wore black and was depressed about the incident.

"If I don't go and defeat Pegasus, will there be another funeral? What will happen to Grandpa's soul? If Pegasus does keep him, I'll never be able to have another conversation with Grandpa again! Mom and Dad will be sad at the loss of another person! Grandpa will never be reunited with Grandma!"

Yugi felt more tears coming through. He didn't care if they cascaded down his face and soaked his pants.

//Do not fear, young one,// came a deep but comforting voice.

Yugi shot is head up at the sound.

"Who's there?" he asked. He looked at his Millennium Puzzle glowing in the moon light. He stared at the mysterious object and found himself being drawn to it. His thoughts were interrupted hearing footsteps coming towards his room. There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Yugi asked as he wiped away the tears. His mother entered the room.

"Yugi, I was just finishing up a conversation with your dad," she said as she took a seat on Yugi's bed next to him. "We both decided to let you go to the tournament."

"Really?" Yugi asked with joy.

"Yes, you should be able to enjoy life while you can."

"But, Mom," Yugi was about to interrupt when his mom continued, "I'm not one hundred percent sure what is going on or why this is very important. But I think your dad and your grandfather would let you go either way."

"Mom, what about your fever?" her child asked with concern.

"I feel much better now. I just needed some rest. Have a good night sleep." She gave her son a kiss on his forehead and walked out of the room.

"Mom," Yugi said before she closed the door. "One day, I will you tell you and dad everything."

Mrs. Muto smiled and closed the door.

Yugi shifted towards a more comfortable sleeping position. He pulled his blanket up closer to him, and before he went to sleep, he looked at the Millennium Puzzle as it sparkled in the moon light. He felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier as his body wanting to rest. He decided not to resist and allowed sleep to take over.

A spirit took a transparent form and sat on a chair between Yugi's desk and bed. The spirit looked similar to the teen but was older and had a few more blonde streaks in his hair. His eyes were more focused and serious.

"Have no fear, young one." the spirit said out loud. He began to ponder as to why anyone would want to cause harm to such a pure soul. The young boy had great family, friends, and was alive, so why would anyone want to destroy his happiness?

"I'll be sure to help you on your mission in any way possible. I won't let anyone stop us."

**The End**


End file.
